Alisertib, Bortezomib, and Rituximab in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma or B-cell Low Grade Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine the recommended phase II dose of alisertib (MLN8237) and bortezomib when combined with rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell and B-cell low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To describe the rate of overall response (complete response and partial response) for patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell and B-cell low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with the combination of MLN8237 plus bortezomib and rituximab.

TRANSLATIONAL OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate the clinical significance of Aurora A over-expression and the proliferative index in initial tumor biopsy specimens from patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell and B-cell low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with the combination of MLN8237 plus bortezomib and rituximab.

II. To evaluate and compare in paired biopsy specimens pre-treatment and on day 8: apoptosis and G2M arrest, and the expression level of cell cycle related proteins including: cyclin D1, p53, BIM-1, p27, p21, noxa, puma and survivin.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of alisertib and bortezomib.

Patients receive alisertib orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-7; bortezomib subcutaneously (SC) on days 1, 8, and 15; and rituximab intravenously (IV) on day 1. Treatment repeats every 28 days* in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Note: *After 8 courses, treatment with rituximab repeats once every 3 courses (12 weeks) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 30 days.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients must have histologically confirmed relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma or low grade B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL); patients with evidence of transformation to a high grade histology will not be eligible
• Measurable or evaluable disease, as defined in 2008 Revised Response Criteria for Malignant Lymphoma; baseline scans used for measurement should be obtained within 30 days of registration, and baseline bone marrow biopsy and/or aspiration should be obtained with 90 days of registration
• Patients may have received one or more lines of prior chemotherapy with/without rituximab (including high dose therapy plus stem cell transplant which is counted as one regimen); prior bortezomib is allowed; patients must not have received bortezomib in the past 6 months
• Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who are not receiving cytochrome p450 inhibitors, and who have a minimum of 300+ CD4+ cells/mm^3, an undetectable viral load, and no history of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) indicator conditions
• Patients must be able to take oral medication and to maintain a fast as required for 2 hours before and 1 hour after MLN8237 administration
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0, 1, or 2 (Karnofsky >= 60%)
• Leukocytes >= 3,000/mcL (obtained within 30 days of registration)
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/mcL (obtained within 30 days of registration)
• Platelets >= 75,000/mcL or >= 50,000/mcL with documented bone marrow involvement (obtained within 30 days of registration)
• Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits (may be elevated if direct bilirubin normal) (obtained within 30 days of registration)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) < 3 X institutional upper limit of normal (obtained within 30 days of registration)
• Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance >= 60 mL/min/1.73 m^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal (obtained within 30 days of registration)
• Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately; men treated on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study, for the duration of study participation, and 4 months after completion of MLN8237 administration
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C, 3 weeks for rituximab) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier
• Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents
• Patients with known brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial
• History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to MLN8237, bortezomib or rituximab
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• Known history of uncontrolled sleep apnea syndrome and other conditions that could result in excessive daytime sleepiness, such as severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; requirement for supplemental oxygen, or any conditions that could result in excessive toxicity associated with the benzodiazepine-like effects of MLN8237
• Inability to swallow oral medication or to maintain a fast as required for 2 hours before and 1 hour after MLN8237 administration or any condition that would modify small bowel absorption of oral medications, including malabsorption, or resection of pancreas or upper bowel
• Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with MLN8237
• HIV-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy which include cytochrome p450 inhibitors are ineligible; patients with CD4 counts less than 300 CD4+ cells/mm^3 and or a high viral load are ineligible
• Grade 2 or greater neuropathy
• The following agents are not permitted while patients are taking MLN8237, and should be discontinued at prior to registration if patients are taking them:

• Patients must stop using the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) for at least 4 days prior to the first dose of MLN8237; administration of PPI while on study is not permitted
• Histamine-2 (H2) receptor antagonists are not permitted from the day prior through to the end of MLN8237 dosing, except as required for premedication for rituximab; constant dosing of H2 blockers is not permitted
• Antacid preparations are not permitted for 2 hours before or 2 hours after administration of MLN8237
• Administration of pancreatic enzymes is not permitted at any time while on study
• Co-administration of enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs, rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine or St. John's wort is not permitted
• Concurrent bisphosphonate therapy is allowed if it was started before study entry and is maintained at recommended dosing intervals; if bisphosphonate therapy is initiated after study entry, bone lesions will not be considered evaluable for disease response
• Patients must be willing not drive, operate dangerous tools or machinery, or engage in any other potentially hazardous activity that requires full alertness and coordination if they experience excessive sedation; if a patient experiences excessive sedation believed to be related to MLN8237, treatment with MLN8237 should be interrupted
• Patients must be willing to limit alcohol consumption to no more than 1 standard unit of alcohol (12 oz beer [350 mL], 1.5 oz [45 mL] of 80-proof alcohol, or one 6-oz [175 mL] glass of wine) per day during the study and for 30 days from the last dose of MLN8237; minimize the use of agents with central nervous system (CNS) effects
• Benzodiazepine use is discouraged but not prohibited